State Early Learning and Development Standards: A Unified Curriculum Framework for All Young Children

Early learning and development standards (ELDS) describe the knowledge, skills, and dispositions young children should demonstrate before kindergarten. This article describes a review of state ELDS for children from birth to 5 years of age to determine if they included information and guidance about the learning needs of young children with developmental delays. A national search of ELDS located 79 documents that represented 53 U.S. states and territories. The review of the documents revealed that a majority of state ELDS had references to young children with developmental delays (89%), but statements and guidance describing specific accommodations for this population were not prevalent. Only two states had supplemental documents addressing the learning needs of young children with developmental delays to facilitate their inclusion in state ELDS. Implications of these findings and recommendations to facilitate the use of ELDS with all young children in inclusive early childhood programs and classrooms are discussed.